A Withering Flame
by SilverShadowFin
Summary: Captain Spitfire of the Wonderbolts seems to have it all. Thrill on and off the job, the admiration of most of Equestria, a luxury house... She lives like a rock star. Like with most rock stars, the shiny surface is not who she is. When a near-fatal accident opens her eyes, Spitfire decides to spend her vacation time with her cousin in Ponyville and explore the magic of friendship.
1. Chapter 1

Spitfire sighed heavily. Off-season wasn't easy for the Wonderbolts captain. Her uniform jacket was sitting in the closet but she'd been far from being off duty. She was finally done with the maneuvers for the next season. Everything was ready. She could finally take a couple of weeks of R&amp;R. She stepped out of her study and closed the door. It was time to pay attention to other parts of the house, she thought with a twisted smirk on her face. She'd basically lived in the study for the past couple of weeks, filling out paperwork, planning show routines and writing instructions.

Spitfire let her eyes rest in the sight of the spacious lounge room. The white sofa and chairs were, for once, not full of random papers, plates, glasses, coffee cups and everything else. Most ponies thought coating cloud furniture with fabric and using wood and metal details was pointless and pretentious. Spitfire couldn't care less. Sure it was expensive but she had the bits to do it. The dark wood, brass and cast iron created a refreshing contrast to the white cloud walls. Charcoal drawings and black-and-white photographs hung around the room. The frames ranged from simple polished metal to intricately engraved brushed steel. The décor of the house was a playful combination of cold colors at eye level and above, and warm colors down where the viewer was essentially looking at the ground far below.

The flame-coated mare spotted an empty coffee cup on the rosewood dinner table sitting against the north wall, next to the kitchen door. She picked up the cup, trotted to the kitchen and put the cup in the sink. Dishes would have to wait. She was relaxed and happy. Even playful. She wasn't going to let a pile of dirty dishes derail this mood. A quick glance at the coffee grinder showed that it still had beans for a couple of pots. Spitfire raised her eyebrow thoughtfully and smirked. She turned sideways next to the black marble kitchen counter and grabbed the coffee grinder's crank with her wing. She used her feathers to turn the crank and at the same time used her hoof to pick up a water kettle. She turned on the tap while holding the kettle in the same hoof. Not a single drop of water missed the kettle. She was still turning the crank steadily when she shut off the tap. A playful smile crept on her face as she finished grinding the coffee and used the wing to light the stove. There was a whooshing sound as an electric spark lit the gas. A large flame shot up and Spitfire instinctively pulled her hand and the kettle away. The flame then calmed down. Spitfire put the kettle on the stove and laughed.

"Whoops. Gotta work on my precision.", she said to no one in particular, still laughing.

Spitfire dumped the fresh ground coffee to a coffee press. The water would boil quickly on the gas stove. She glanced at the old, mostly decorative barometer on the wall. Air pressure was the usual-for-Cloudsdale 0.76 bars. _Absolutely perfect for brewing coffee_, Spitfire thought. Most ponies probably wouldn't name "perfect water boiling point for coffee" as their first reason for liking Upper Cloudsdale. For Spitfire, ever the coffee aficionado, it was a big plus. The gas stove was really fast and the water was boiling by the time Spitfire had a coffee cup on the table. She poured the water over the coffee and pressed the filter down. The coffee would have to sit for a couple of minutes.

The playful mare more danced than walked past the dinner table to her book, movie and record shelf on the west wall. The movie crystals were sitting in their cases on the lower shelves. At eye level, Spitfire had her book collection. The three upper shelves were almost full of vinyl recordings. Her video player could of course play crystal music recordings as well as films, but unlike the adverts said, the sound was far from "crystal clear.". It was okay for cheap music players, but vinyl was the way to go with high-end music systems like the one in Spitfire's lounge room. She picked up one of her favorite albums and carefully slid the vinyl disk out of the cardboard sleeve, on the record player. Spitfire was a purist. The needle had to be manually placed on the disk, there was no automatic arm control. She flicked on the amplifier and then the record player. The sound of masterful drums and bass filled the room.

This world is spinning around me  
This world is spinning without me  
And every day sends future to past  
Every breath leaves one less to my last

Watch the sparrow falling  
Gives new meaning to it all  
If not today nor yet tomorrow  
Then some other day

Why did she like that song so much? It was all about mortality. A reminder of the limited time we all have on this planet. Her eyes happened to wonder to a drawing on the wall. A pegasus climbing through clouds, a trail of flames following her. That was a drawing a friend had made of her when she was only a Guard sergeant. She'd always tried to push limits, hers and others'. She'd been known for being annoying, even cruel and selfish. The truth was she was often pushing others in ways that made her look like the bad guy, but she did know where to stop. Often ponies needed to be taken to their limits to reveal their potential. She lived on the edge. She could crash into the ground at a terrifying speed any time she was flying. She was used to being extreme and demanding quick results through drastic actions.

The Rainbow Falls incident was a great example of somepony not being able to handle her way of doing things. Soarin was a fantastic and agile flyer. Speed was just not his thing. Rainbow Dash was pretty good precision flyer, but not refined or disciplined in the way a Wonderbolt had to be. Cloudsdale had to have the best team, whatever it took. She'd been responsible for the relay team. She'd been responsible for representing not only Cloudsdale but the Guard too. Personal feelings didn't come into play. Everypony should have realized that. Spitfire walked to the kitchen slowly, concentrating on the music. _I'm in a good mood, dammit._ She pushed the coffee filter down and poured herself a cup. Black, no sugar. No extras. Just the real thing. Coffee as good as that would've been wasted with sugar or milk. Most nuances of the flavor would have been lost.

The white porcelain coffee cup sat on the dark dinner table. Everything in front of the flame-coated mare was an image of class. Style. Success. She lived like a rock star. She was a celebrity. She had thousands of fans who adored her. She was respected as an Academy instructor. Everypony respected her for always giving her all and never giving in. At the same time, she was loathed for sacrificing everything to get the job done. The team seemed to be fine with who she was. Was that just military discipline? Respecting the chain of command. The ponies who knew her, did they really like her? She didn't have friends outside the team? Did she have any friends at all?

Spitfire gulped half the coffee in one swig. _Dammit. Where did my good mood go?_ She inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh. Everything was fine as long as she was immersed in her work, getting things done. This supposed relaxing was when she had to stop and look at her life deeper than the shiny cherry wood and brass surface. She had money and success, the best job ever and challenges to conquer every day. Or so she'd convinced herself. Was she just running away from the real challenges? Doing a controlled flat spin inverted and pulling out of it below treetops was easy. Air was predictable. When she was with other ponies, she was the leader. Around her, even ponies were predictable.

She wanted respect. Respect meant obedience. She didn't have to worry about what anypony else thought of her. No one would dare question her. She had shown what she could do. The world knew she was not a nopony. When she was a filly, everypony thought she was a troublemaker who'd never amount to much. When she got in to the E.U.P.G., they had to admit there was something to her after all. When she was accepted to the Wonderbolts, her family and the few friends she had had all been shocked. Spitfire the hot-blooded troublemaker in the elite aerobatics team? No one thought she could train that hard or focus on something like that. The idea was absurd to them.

After those first victories, she'd trained even harder as a Wonderbolt. In the team, she'd become jokingly known as Spitefire. Ponies often commented on how she behaved like she had something to prove. She always shrugged them off. Inside, though, hearing it hurt every time. Was she not good enough? Was she never good enough? She hit the table as hard as she could. A string of swears escaped her mouth. She buried her head in her hooves and stared at the surface of the table. She concentrated on the music to distract herself. Calm, soft drumming and guitar subsided and was replaced by piano and vocals.

Live another day  
Climb a little higher  
Find another reason to stay  
Ashes in your hands  
Mercy in your eyes  
If you're searching for a silent sky

You won't find it here  
Look another way  
You won't find it here  
So die another day

Right at that moment, Spitfire didn't care about the 'real' message of the song or the album. The first tree lines stuck with her. In the air, she could do anything. Any turns, dives or climbs she wanter. She could do the same with her life. It was never easy but nothing in her life had been. It was facing a challenge and working her way through it that fueled her. That and coffee. She went to get a second cup. Of course she was still shaken by the sudden emotional outburst but she was starting to see things more clearly. These episodes came and went. Whenever this happened, she was left with one question. Was it too late to change things? She could try to create something resembling a life outside of work. The second cup of coffee was gone before she even realized. The caffeine made her notice she was actually a little hungry. Eating inside suddenly seemed like such a bore. A flight to some Earth pony village would build up appetite nicely.

Spitfire walked to the dressing room. Spitfire the spiteful, unhappy workaholic was gone, washed away by the quick shower. Spitfire the cool would take the spotlight for now. One look out the window had almost caused Spitfire to shelve the dinner plans but she was feeling, as she put it, "way too cool to back down". There were rain clouds below as far as the eye could see. She'd consulted her calendar and realized the National Weather Office had had to schedule an extra downpour that covered roughly a quarter of Equestria. The past few weeks had been hot on the ground, apparently. Living so far up in the air was nice. Air was always nice and cool. That, or freezing. Even that could be refreshing sometimes.

The downside of living above the clouds was preparing for two different climates every time. Spitfire had chosen a black waterproof pilot jacket so she didn't have to worry about the weather on the ground. Even with the awful weather down there, up in Cloudsdale the sunshine was blinding. As any pegasus knew, flying in the sunlight would cause a headache after some time. Sunglasses were not just a fashion item for high-and-fast pegasi. They were an essential piece of protective gear. Spitfire smirked as she turned to her eyeglass shelf. Of course, being useful didn't keep glasses from being cool. She picked up a pair of genuine Hay-Barn Roadwearers with brown lenses. The classic green-tinted Navigators were too cliché and the lenses didn't create enough contrast below the rainclouds. The Roadwearers were different enough from the Academy standard issue glasses that most ponies wouldn't even recognize her, in the jacket at least. That was exactly the way she wanted it. She was just another pony going to grab a bite to eat.

Spitfire leapt off her porch into the air. She decided to have a little fun and went into a near-nosedive. Fun, but nothing unusual. Breaking all the rules she spent the days drilling into recruits, she started flapping her wings hard and building up speed. The clouds were approaching fast. The air around her became turbulent and felt harder. The small, unpredictable currents and blasts of air shook her feathers. The Wonderbolt captain had a crazy idea. She ignored the unstable air and kept flapping her wings as hard as she could. Even moving the wigs become difficult. Her muscles hurt. Air was hitting her in the face with tremendous force. Suddenly she saw something in the corner of her eye. A pegasus somewhere below the clods, visible only for a moment from a hole in the clouds. Then the clouds surrounded her. The realization hit her. She had to level off, fast. Spitfire spread her wings and tried to slow herself down. Good, but not good enough. She was pitching up too, but again, not fast enough.

"Bloody idiot, Spits!", she screamed at herself.

She was going to crash. Not head-on but with enough force to do some serious damage.

"Buck everything!", she screamed and closed her eyes.

Everything was so clear in its insanity. A Sonic Rainboom would have been the crown jewel to her career, to her life. She didn't care about safety. She didn't care about surviving the attempt. Her life was empty. She had tried everything life had to offer so why not go out an a blaze of glory, trying something legendary? But... Was this a good idea? She'd been so close. She might learn how to do the Rainboom if she kept at it. A certain fantastic young flyer might even help her. Rainbow Dash... She never apologized for the idiotic things she'd done at Rainbow Falls. To Ms. Dash, or Soarin for that matter. It was her own fear and need to upstage everypony that had kept her from making friends. Someone like her didn't even deserve any.

Spitfire opened her eyes, horrified. She had wanted to die. She didn't believe she could change, or deserved the chance try. She was filled with pure terror. The moments of her life she hated the most passed through her mind. The school years, the mockery from other fillies, the shock of her parents when she got in to the E.U.P.G. The loneliness. Was it all that bad? She was a celebrity and an ace flyer. She had talent. She had skill. She was genuinely good. It didn't matter what some ponies said. It didn't matter if her own parents didn't believe in her. Of course her teammates honestly liked her. They wouldn't have done half the things they had if she was just a boss to them. Somewhere in the back of her mind the noticed she'd only just passed though the cloud. Her enlightenment had lasted only a couple of seconds. Nevertheless, it was too late. Whether a humble, confident but friendly Spitfire was possible, the word would never know. She closed her eyes and waited for the impact.


	2. Chapter 2

The impact never came. Spitfire felt dizzy. She opened her eyes and looked around. A pegasus pony was carrying her. The pink mane was soaked and messy. The yellow coat wasn't doing much better. Spitfire couldn't talk. She couldn't think straight. She just closed her eyes and waited for whatever was ahead. There was no telling how much time passed, but at some point the pegasus landed on what seemed to be grass and carried her into a house. Soon she was gently lowered onto a bed. After that, she remembered waking up in the bed, covered by a blanket.

Spitfire's wet jack was hanging on the back of a chair. Her glasses were on a night stand next to her. She looked around. The room was small but somehow cozy. There was something vaguely familiar about it. Sunlight was coming in from the window. How long had she slept? Spitfire pressed her head on the pillow again and closed her eyes. She started thinking about everything that had happened. Her whole life, really. Images of fillies ridiculing her and calling her names. Images of her parents telling her to do better. Images of her doing all kinds of reckless and stupid things. Impossible aerial stunts, dangerously fast and low flying around Cloudsdale and Earth pony villages. Her parents scolding her. Nopony saw it as talent. Nopony ever praised her skill. The bitterness and anger from before came back. This time Spitfire saw it for what it was. She was not happy. Her life was not good. She was alone. Tears were flowing down her cheeks. She took a few deep, sharp breaths. She was angry, sad, desperate and confused. What the buck made her break down like this? Why now?

"Um, I brought you some water. I can make you breakfast whenever you want something. If that's okay with you, of course."

The timid but immensely kind voice was almost soothing. Spitfire opened her eyes and wiped the tears off her face. The mare was smiling shyly at her. Spitfire could only sigh heavily and form something resembling a smile. The pink-maned mare came closer. Spitfire sat up and hugged her.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. You saved my life. I have no idea how I can ever repay this.", Spitfire said, sobs escaping her mouth again.

"Spitfire...", the mare sighed.

Spitfire went from overly emotional to confused. She noticed too late she's raised a suspicious eyebrow at her rescuer. She closed her eyes and hung her head, still resting against the mare's yellow fur.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to seem ungrateful. Old habits are hard to shake. I worked for the E.U.P Guard for so long that I'm suspicious of everything. Sorry. Still, I'm surprised you know my name.", Spitfire said quietly.

The mare giggled softly.

"You are the famous Wonderbolts captain. Is there a pegasus who doesn't know you... cousin?", she then said, still giggling.

Spitfire looked up, wide-eyed. She sat up and looked at the mare. She then face-hoofed.

"Fluttershy! How the hail storm didn't I recognize my own cousin?", Spitfire said, groaning.

Fluttershy smiled.

"That's okay. You look like you had a lot on your mind. If you want to talk about it, I'm here for you.", Flyttershy said.

Spitfire sighed. She had no idea what to do. Should she talk to Fluttershy? Should she tell her what was going on, what had happened?

"I just... messed up. I tried a stunt and failed. I was going too fast too low. I couldn't level off. How in Equestria did you pull me out of it when I, a professional aerobatic flyer, couldn't?", Spitfire said, telling only half the story. The shock of almost dying was probably a good enough excuse for the tears earlier.

Fluttershy told Spitfire what had happened the previous night. Spitfire was a little surprised to hear she'd slept through the whole evening, night and most of the morning. Apparently it was almost noon. It turned out Flyttershy, always the animal friend, hadn't been alone.

"I guess you didn't see the four eagles helping me stop your fall."

"Sorry, Flutters. I was busy contemplating my impending demise.", Spitfire replied with a frown.

"Sorry, Spitfire. I didn't mean to belittle what happened to you.", Fluttershy said timidly.

Spitfire couldn't help smiling despite everything.

"That's fine, Fluttershy. Breakfast would be nice. I can't just lay here wallowing in this.", Spitfire said. She knew full well it wasn't going to be that easy but she was going to try.

Fluttershy looked out the window.

"It's a nice day out there. Sun is shining and all. Hay Burger is just around the corner. If you're up to going out, we could go there. It's practically lunch time anyway.", Fluttershy said.

"Sounds good, actually. I love your cooking but I wouldn't want to make you cook just for me. Besides, fresh air and sunshine sound perfect right now.", Spitfire said, avoiding the whole truth again. She needed something to distract her mind and a busy diner was just the thing. Fluttershy's house left too much room for her own thoughts.

Spitfire and Flyttershy took off. Spitfire had to take a few deep breaths. _What the hay?_ She was nervous. The Wonderbolts captain was nervous about flying. Even the thought was ridiculous. She turned to Flyttershy.

"Hey, coz. Want to walk there? I've never really seen Ponyville from the ground.", Spitfire asked, faking cool confidence.

For a split second, Flyttershy's expression gave away her worry. It wasn't just animals she was so good with. There was no use trying to pretend in front of her. Clearly she decided to spare Spitfire's feelings and not bring up the accident again. She just flashed a bright smile, turned to Spitfire and nodded.

"Sure. You probably don't spend much time with your hooves on the ground.", Fluttershy giggled.

"That was the understatement of the century, Flutters.", Spitfire laughed, genuinely this time.

The two landed on a road on the outskirts of the village. On the ground, Spitfire got a good look of Fluttershy's sunglasses and raised an eyebrow, amused. Fluttershy noticed.

"Is there... something on my face? Or are these glasses not right for me?", the pegasus asked. She was so sensitive to criticism from ponies close to her.

"No. It's the opposite. Those glasses look absolutely great on you. I'm just surprised you're wearing original Navigators. Those are E.U.P.G. surplus too. Most ponies wouldn't go through the trouble to hunt down a genuine pair if they're not in the Guard.", Spitfire explained.

"These are a gift from a good friend. Rainbow Dash.", Fluttershy said, looking relieved, almost proud.

Now Spitfire could only laugh. Fluttershy looked at her confused.

"I'm just wondering how our reserve officer cadet is doing. I'd imagine Soarin has them practicing advanced low-level flight maneuvers right now. He usually gets through the theory part in less than week. That stallion doesn't like sitting in a classroom any more than the cadets do.", Spitfire said, still laughing.

Fluttershy and Spitfire talked about both life in Ponyville and the Wonderbolts. Spitfire giggled like a filly at the cute animal stories Flyttershy had. Those critters could be such goofballs. Stories of the Wonderbolts' crazy escapades made Fluttershy's face glow, sometimes with excitement, sometimes by embarrassment. Spitfire did try to spare her cousin from the worst stories.

"Then there was that one time when High Winds partied all night after our last show. She forgot that we had an audience with Princess Celestia the next afternoon."

Fluttershy gasped and her eyes went wide.

"Yeah. It's a good thing she's one of the fastest flyers in the land. Finally Misty figured out she was in some high-class hotel on the other side of the celestiadamn province! I had to send Soarin to Hay Springs. That's two hours from Canterlot for the fastest of us, and two hours back. I think it was half past two when they got back. I basically crammed something resembling lunch down her throat while giving her a _very_ strict scolding. I swear she was close to choking on that food. Those crazy ponies don't make this job easy sometimes.", Spitfire recounted one incident, her face a mixture of amusement and frown.

Fluttershy giggled.

"Well... Um... At least you didn't do anything in front of Princess Celestia herself.", Fluttershy said, obviously incredibly embarrassed.

Spitfire raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

"Twilight Sparkle got us invited to the Grand Galloping Gala three years ago. We... we all had dreamt of that evening for months. At first it was all we had hoped for. Then..."

Fluttershy froze in the middle of her story. It was Spitfire's turn to turn red with embarrassment. The story of that night was legendary in the Guard. The mayhem the animals had caused on the castle, and the hours the Guard ponies on duty had spent returning the animals to the castle was still a source of amusement.

"I heard they actually had to summon Night Guard personnel to duty early to handle the chaos.", Spitfire said, torn between laughing and keeping a straight face.

"Of course, all that was good practice for the _real_ chaos we faced some months after that... ", Spitfire said, trying to steer the conversation from the Fluttershy-induced catastrophe in the castle to the Equestria-wide catastrophe the Elements of Harmony thwarted soon after.

"How are things with Mr. Discord, by the way?", Spitfire asked and winked.

"I-it's not like that, Spitfire!", Fluttershy responded.

"I'm just teasing you, Flutters.", Spitfire smirked. "I know Discord is just a friend. What you did was absolutely awesome, though. You basically calmed down the embodiment of chaos and disharmony."

"Th-thanks. I just did what I usually do. You need to give everypony a chance."

Spitfire looked away and cringed. _Yeah, you're absolutely right, Flutters. And I messed that up. I didn't give you a chance and tried to take away your friend __because of__ my own personal pride. __How can you treat me this kindly?_

"True.", was all Spitfire said out loud.

"Discord can be a real sweetheart and a true gentle... dragon when he wants to.", Fluttershy said, oblivious to Spitfire's inner monologue.

"I'm sure he can. From what I know he looks like someone who's deep and enjoys fun. He just takes it too far. Way too far.", Spitfire said.

Fluttershy nodded, and why wouldn't she? Discord was unpredictable. There was something about the yellow pegasus that had tamed the dragonequus but he was still something between a blood-thirsty dictator and the most powerful prankster in the world.

"I can't help wondering what made Discord change like that. I mean, you're amazing Flutters, but apparent Discord was a bad as king Sombra. A total dictator. Why does someone like that change?"

There was a sudden flash of light. Of of nowhere, a band had appeared, playing what had become known as True, True Friend, the song the Elements of Harmony had sung after the cutie mark mix-up had been cleared. An all too familiar dragonequus was playing a piano and singing lead vocals. Soon the music faded away, along with the instruments and band. The dragonequus, with a gentle smile on his face, spoke to Flyttershy.

"Because, in all the universe, you are the closest thing I have to a friend, Fluttershy.", the spirit of chaos and disharmony said. He then muttered to himself "Note to self: the trumpet and mariachi band worked better."

The two mares stared at one of the most powerful beings in the universe, unimpressed. Spitfire yawned.

"Hello, Discord.", Fluttershy said. "We haven't seen you in Ponyville for a while. Princess Cadence has been trying to reach you. She wants to thank you for that vacation you arranged for her and Twilight."

The dragonequus sighed heavily. "Likely story. It's been just enough time for her to plot revenge with sun horse the prank master.", Discord muttered with disdain.

"Someone is going to get a one-way ticket to the moon at this rate.", Spitfire muttered to nopony in particular.

"Discord, most of us mean it when we say something. No offense...", Fluttershy said.

"Oh my dear Fluttershy, you don't have to pretend in front of me. I know who you really are. That shyness is just a facade. ", Discord said, his face in a self-satisfied smirk.

Fluttershy's looked at Discord with the same smug grin she'd had in the maze a couple of years earlier. Discord gulped quietly. Spitfire looked away and smiled. She'd read the Guard reports. She, along with everypony else in Equestria, knew full well that Fluttershy was one of the few ponies who had beaten Discord, fair and square. Discord had to cheat to turn Fluttershy.

"But Discord... Why would you insult the very princess who gave you a second chance?", Fluttershy asked, in mockingly frail voice.

"Argh! You are no fun sometimes, Fluttershy. Arrrrrivederci!"

With that, the dragonequus turned away and disappeared in a flash of white light.

Spitfire laughed.

"Wow. You just... completely out-trolled... the spirit of chaos.", she howled between bouts of laughter.

Fluttershy flashed her cousin an innocent, almost embarrassed smile. Spitfire gave her a pointed look.

"Okay, keep pretending then... dragon master.", she muttered, then winked and kept laughing.

"I'm not that great. That story's been blown out of proportion.", Fluttershy said, now genuinely embarrassed.

"Whatever you say, Miss '800 wing power'.", Spitfire said and stuck her tongue out. "And don't try to talk yourself out of this one. I was there. Too bad those strained wing muscles kept me on the ground. I didn't get the best view. Heck, I had to have Soarin carry me from the nearest train station up to Cloudsdale later that day..."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.", Fluttershy said.

"Hey, it happens. We aerobatic flyers take things to the extreme. Basically every single Wonderbolt ever has had bone fractures and muscle problems at some point. That's the price of being awesome.", Spitfire grinned. Most of them before joining the 'Bolts.

"You sound just like Rainbow Dash.", Fluttershy giggled.

Spitfire gulped.

"Haha. I guess. That filly has tons of potential.", she said.

_Dammit, Flutters. Don't remind me every fifteen minutes. She saved me and two of my teammates. I treated her like garbage. I treated you like garbage. Why am I thinking about this again? This is getting stupid and repetitive._

Her cousin's concerned voice broke her out of the quilt trip.

"Spits? Is everything okay? Are you thinking about the accident again?"

_Thanks for giving me an excuse on a silver plate._

"Yeah. It's just... It was so stupid."

"It wasn't your fault. You said it yourself. Wonderbolts push themselves to the limit all the time.", Fluttershy tried to comfort Spitfire.

"It's not just about pushing ourselves hard. It's about pushing ourselves in the right direction. Yesterday I definitely didn't.", Spitfire said, quoting one of the Wonderbolt training mantras.


	3. Chapter 3

6

The two pegasi stepped in to the diner. There was no line. Most ponies had already had their lunch and gone back to work. More than half the tables were unoccupied.

"For me, a double hay burger, fries and a sparkling water, please." Fluttershy said to the waiter behind the counter.

A second waiter came to the counter and smiled at Spitfire.

"Miss, I can take your order if you know what you want."

"Thank you. I'll-"

Spitfire's eyes wandered to an ad on the counter.

_**Brand new! Tired of the same old hay burgers? Try something new, for a limited time only! Soy burgers. Instead of hay, these burgers have soybean paste in them!**_

Spitfire grinned.

"Sorry. I think I'll try the soy burger, plus fries and a club soda. Couldn't hurt to be adventurous every once in a while." she said and flashed a smile to the waiter.

"Very true, miss. You have to "push the envelope" as the Wonderbolts would say." the waiter said and smiled.

_Dammit! So much for that disguise. The jacket and glasses do squat._

The waiter noticed there was something off about Spitfire's face.

"Sorry about the Royal Pegasus Guard terminology, miss. My twin brother is a Wonderbolt. Clearly I've spent too much time with him."

Spitfire looked at him, amused.

"That's fine. I'm a bit of a Wonderbolts fan myself. Who is your brother, if I may ask?" Spitfire asked, just to steer away any suspicion. The waiter's brown tail and mane combined with the white fur told her everything she needed to know. The waiter had to be Fast Clip's brother, financing his weather manager training by working in Hay Burger. Diners were almost never an actual career path for anyone, just stepping-stones. Fast Clip had mentioned that his brother was laid off from the Fillydelphia weather team because of budget cuts. He was too old to start from scratch in any other city so he was planning to get manager qualifications and apply for the spot opening up in Baltimare. It was a short flight away from Fillydelphia so the family wouldn't even need to move.

Soon both Spitfire and Fluttershy had gotten their food. They walked to the corner of the diner, trying to find a quiet spot. Spitfire was still not convinced she could avoid fans recognizing her with the glasses off. Suddenly, a voice from one of the tables startled both pegasi.

"Fluttershy! Nice to see you here. Who is your friend?"

Spitfire turned to see who was talking and Fluttershy replied to her friend.

"Oh. Hi, Twilight. I didn't see you there. Sorry about that. Taking a break from studying? This is my cousin, Spitfire." Fluttershy said and gestured to Spitfire.

Spitfire's eyes went wide for about half a second. It took her just another half a second to set het tray down on a table and snap into attention.

"Captain Spitfire, Royal Guard Air Demonstration Team, Equestrian Earth, Unicorn, Pegasus Guard, Your Highness."

Spitfire instinctively rattled off her official title and saluted when she realized she was addressing royalty. She was quiet and as discreet as possible without seeming unprofessional. The Princess looked more uncomfortable with her formality than anything else. It seemed like she was just as inclined to blend in to the crowd as Spitfire was. The Princess nodded respectfully and smiled.

"Oh, it's you, captain Spitfire. I'm sorry I didn't recognize you right away. It's nice to meet you again. What brings you to Ponyville, if I may ask?" the Princess asked Spitfire.

"Umm... I have a couple of weeks of R&amp;R and I decided to visit my cousin." Spitfire lied even more than before.

She was nervous. She had no idea if the alicorn could see she was lying.

"Ah. That's a nice idea. It's fun to spend time with relatives sometimes." The alicorn paused for a moment. "Even if things don't go exactly according to plan."

Spitfire laughed and looked at the Princess straight in the eye.

"Discord did try to distract us when we were walking here." Fluttershy said.

"Walked? I still haven't quite mastered the wings but you are both pegasi."

"Well... I hurt my wing last night. At least that made my decision to come visit my favorite cousin easier." Spitfire laughed nervously.

"Oh. I'm so sorry to hear that. Living up in Cloudsdale would be quite a challenge with a hurt wing." the Princess said, clearly concerned.

"Yeah... Upper Cloudsdale too, ma'am. That's literally impossible. Most shops and services are in the lower part of the city."

"Captain, please drop the formalities. My friends' friends are my friends. Just call me Twilight." the alicorn said and smiled.

Spitfire looked at Fluttershy and laughed.

"Our royalty sure is relaxed, eh?" She turned to Twilight and flashed a wide smile. "Sure thing, Princess Twilight."

Fluttershy looked a little embarrassed. She clearly had even more trouble adjusting to the informality between the Princess and basically a complete stranger.

The Princess face-hoofed.

"Where are my manners? Please sit down." she said and chuckled quietly.

"Pardon my directness, Your Highness. I just have to know, is all of Equestrian royalty this relaxed? I would have expected at least guards." Spitfire said.

"That's true for Celestia and Luna, of course. They are so important. We've already seen that they're targets if something happens. Cadence follows Crystal Empire traditions and travels with at least a small security detail. It's more ceremonial than anything else. I'm honestly not used to the crown, even. I'd feel suffocated with guards following me everywhere." the alicorn laughed.

Spitfire wasn't planning to say it out loud but the words just escaped her mouth.

"Besides, you're never really alone or unguarded. Everypony here knows you. You always have your friends close by. The Changeling incident proved that you and your friends can be more powerful than dozens of guards."

Spitfire froze. She could see Fluttershy's eyes going wide. She took a quick, sharp breath before hastily correcting herself.

"No disrespect to Captain Shining Armor, of course!"

The Princess laughed.

"I don't think he'd mind." the alicorn said. She then continued "I didn't think the captain of the Wonderbolts reads reports about these things."

"Ma'am, it wasn't just the reports. I was in Canterlot at the time. Most of the team was. Soarin apparently saw you fighting that horde near the castle. He would've helped but he was busy lending a hoof to the Royal Guard. Besides, you had the whole thing well in hoof. The same can't be said for the guard team I was helping downtown, near the train station. It was absolute mayhem."

The trio continued to share stories. Spitfire was especially fascinated by Princess Twilight's personal assistant, Spike.

"And Spike is basically the most celebrated hero the Crystal Empire has ever had. Without him King Sombra would have taken it over again." the princess recounted.

"I'm probably starting to sound like a broken record, but again, I've read the reports." Spitfire laughed. "I think I knew about Sombra's return before the Princesses had time to tell you."

Fluttershy looked at her cousin surprised. Spitfire decided to explain.

"The whole reason we got any warning was dumb luck. A Night Guard patrol officer had an accident in the north. They sent a search and rescue team and one of us, one of the 'Bolts, went with them. Misty ended up saving the team a couple of times when Sombra attacked them in the air. From what I heard she pulled some insane stunts to spoil Sombra's attacks."

"Thank goodness one of you was there." Princess Twilight said. There was a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Spitfire realized that she'd been showing off just a little too much. Sure, Misty's role had been important but the Bearers of the Elements and Spike the dragon had been the ones who saved the day.

"Of course, that was just the prelude to your work. I'd love to meet Spike one day and congratulate him." Spitfire said, trying to save face.

The two Ponyvilleans shifted around in their seats. Spitfire tried to look casual and looked out the window. _Dammit, Spits!_ All she was talking about was work. She was terrible at small talk. What could they talk about? What did these ponies usually talk about? Fluttershy's friends? Rainbow Dash, the Academy, work. No. Twilight's friends? Spitfire smiled. That could get a conversation going.

"Your Highness, I understand you lived in Canterlot until a few years ago. How's life in Ponyville compared to a big city? You've definitely made new friends here."

The Princess smiled.

"Hey, I already asked you to call me Twilight." she said, amused. "It's nice in Ponyville. I don't mind the small town life. Ponies in Canterlot are so full of themselves. Everypony thinks they are the center of the universe just because they live in the capital." Twilight complained.

"Hah! Well if it makes you feel any better, Upper Cloudsdale is the same for pegasi. I don't even know my neighbors, or anyone else in Cloudsdale for that matter." Spitfire joined in.

"Of course, it makes it easy to concentrate on studying when you don't have a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time." the princess said.

Spitfire laughed. She noticed that Fluttershy was giving Twilight a pointed look, struggling to suppress a giggle.

Twilight glanced at the quizzical Wonderbolts captain and smiled.

"I think Fluttershy remembered what I said after I'd just moved to Ponyville. I was, let's say, not too eager to move here. I'm a pony who likes to study in solitude. I've spent all my life reading. I basically didn't have any friends until I came here. Ponyville and my friends have changed my life." the princess told Spitfire.

The ace flyer looked out the window into the distance. _I absolutely know what you mean, princess._

Spitfire sighed solemnly, then managed to give the Princess a faint smile and shared a story of her own.

"I've dedicated my life to flying. The team is my family and all the friends I have. I can only imagine what it is like to actually have friends outside of work."

Fluttershy and Princess Twilight looked at Spitfire with concern, and with what looked like a hint of pity.

"At the same time, the team is amazing. We are one big family. Like with all families, life isn't always easy but I wouldn't trade it for anything." Spitfire rushed to add.

The yellow pegasus and the purple alicorn looked at the ace athlete with a smiles on their faces. Spitfire could see there was something forced about them. She couldn't blame the duo. Life in the 'Bolts could be rough and lonely, and no one felt it harder than the flight captain. The team was like a family to the team, the Academy a home away from home, but making friends outside the team was definitely a challenge for the star athletes.


End file.
